A usually secluded residence of a religious community and its guru.
[Sanskrit āśramaḥ : ā-, to + śramaḥ, toil, penance, austerity (from śramati, he toils, practices austerity).]
Dictionary:
ash·ram (äsh'rəm) ![]() |
[Sanskrit āśramaḥ : ā-, to + śramaḥ, toil, penance, austerity (from śramati, he toils, practices austerity).]
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| Wikipedia: Ashram |
Traditionally, an ashram (Sanskrit/Hindi: आश्रम) is a religious hermitage. Additionally, today the term ashram often denotes a locus of Indian cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction, the moral equivalent of a studio or dojo.
An ashram would typically, but not always, be located far from human habitation, in forests or mountainous regions, amidst refreshing natural surroundings conducive to spiritual instruction and meditation. The residents of an ashram regularly performed spiritual and physical exercises, such as the various forms of Yoga. Other sacrifices and penances, such as Yajnas were also performed. Many ashrams also served as Gurukuls or residential schools for children.
Ashrams have been a powerful symbol throughout Hindu history and theology. Most Hindu kings, until the medieval ages, are known to have had a sage who would advise the royal family in spiritual matters, or in times of crisis, who was called the rajguru, which literally translates to royal teacher. A world-weary emperor going to this guru's ashram, and finding solace and tranquility, is a recurring motif in many folktales and legends of ancient India.
Sometimes, the goal of a pilgrimage to the ashram was not tranquility, but instruction in some art, especially warfare. In the Hindu epic Ramayana, the protagonist princes of ancient Ayodhya, Rama and Laxman, go to the Rishi Vishvamitra's ashram to protect his Yajnas from being defiled by emissary-demons of Ravana. After they prove their mettle, the princes receive martial instruction from the sage, especially in the use of enchanted weapons, called Divyastras (Sanskrit Divya: enchanted + Astra: missile weapon; the Sanskrit word 'astra' means missile weapon, such as an arrow, as opposed to 'shastra', which means a hand-to-hand weapon, such as a mace.) In the Mahabharata, Lord Krishna, in his youth, goes to the ashram of Sage Sandiipanii, to gain knowledge of both intellectual and spiritual matters.
Residential schools especially run in the tribal areas of Maharashtra and elsewhere in India are called Ashram Shala or Ashram schools, one such school is the Lok Biradari Prakalp Ashram Shala.[1][2]
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| Translations: Ashram |
Dansk (Danish)
n. - ashram, refugium
Nederlands (Dutch)
retraite voor mediterende Hindoes, Hindoe commune
Deutsch (German)
n. - Ashram (indischer Ort der Einsiedelei)
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ασράμ, ινδικό ερημητήριο
Italiano (Italian)
eremitaggio
Português (Portuguese)
n. - grupo (m) de discípulos que habitam com um sábio hindu (Rel.), recolhimento (m) religioso (Rel.)
Español (Spanish)
n. - retiro religioso de sabio hindú, seguidores de secta hindú
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - världsflykt-
中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
嬉皮群居村, 修行的处所, 聚会所
中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 嬉皮群居村, 修行的處所, 聚會所
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - アーシュラマ, 隠者の住居
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) أشرم : معتزل ديني, معتزل خاص بحكيم أو فيلسوف هندي
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - אתר התבודדות דתית (בהודו), אשרם, כל מרכז התבודדות או קהילתי דתי במתכונת האשרם ההודי
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![]() | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Ashram". Read more | |
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